On to Santiago - end of the VIVA tour

Yesterday was a long driving day from Pucon to Santa Cruz, with nothing much of interest apart from the lunch break at some really touristy falls. It was a Sunday and school holidays and it was packed.

Today's news comes courtesy of Kurt:

 

A varied day today. It started cool but became really hot by the end.

Start with a special breakfast sitting at antique looking furniture nicely laid out with ornate dishes. Start with a mixed fruit drink, followed by a fruit plate, then eggs, bread, coffee and tea etc. All done with style. Nice to experience after some of the rougher breakfasts we've experienced.

Our guide for the day arrived and we walked to the Colchagua museum, which was set up by Carlos Cardoen who is the patriarch of a wealthy local family. Only problem is the family made their money by making cluster bombs and it is suspected that this is still the case.

The museum is fantastic. It covers all possible aspects of Chile: early geology and the reason for the Andes, the initial inhabitants including Incas and Mapuche, the Spanish invasion, the freedom fights, early technology, modern technology, and finally the rescue of the 33 miners trapped for over two months in 2010. A worthwhile experience despite the macabre background.

Next stop a winery tour. We start with a walk in the vineyard where we taste the various grapes. Then the cellar where we get a detailed explanation of the wine making process. Then off to make our own wine. We don aprons. Each of us gets three glasses of different red wines which we taste and then mix in a proportion we think would make the ideal wine for us. It's messy but great fun. Finally we fill a bottle in our desired proportion, cork it, seal it and give it a label. Of course we get to keep the bottle and the apron. The result is very ordinary but it was fun.

 The Montgras vineyards

 Merlot grapes

 we can mix Merlot, Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon

 in any proportions we like

 filling our bottle with the right mix

 

corking the bottle

Then the long drive to Santiago. Three hours in the heat and traffic. Houses start appearing. We are driving between the coastal range and the Andes which still have glaciers sitting on top of them. Santiago is a city of seven million and is typical of any big city. Wild Patagonia was definitely better.